Looking through mirrors
by QueenAnne
Summary: Can a vacation become the start of something entirely different? And can Chloe and Lex look past the facades and see each other for the first time?


Author's Note: Hi. This is the 2nd posting of my first Smallville piece--the first time I was in a serious hurry. Anyway, I really hope that you like this. But even if you don't um, I don't mind--so honestly, don't bother offering "constructive criticism" because it's never constructive, it's just rude. So for those of you who DO like it, review, and read on!--Annest  
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It was cool when Chloe, Pete and Clark walked out of the high school doors, excited at the prospect of the upcoming five day weekend that had just begun. It smelled like rain, and the blue afternoon sky had begun to darken already, so Chloe pulled her jacket a little closer after a chilly breeze encircled the little group.  
  
"I don't know if I can handle five days. It's like getting a taste of freedom, and then having it ripped away from you," Pete was saying rather melodramatically, explaining his way through the 5 blissful days ahead of them. Chloe rolled her eyes and nudged Clark, who walked next to her.  
  
"He's just mad because he doesn't have a date for the weekend yet," Clark joked, receiving a pointed glare from Pete, and quickly changed the subject.   
  
"So, Chloe, what're your plans for the break?"  
  
Chloe closed her eyes in anticipation of the weekend and brushed a wayward strand of hair off of her face. "My dad and I are going to take a vacation," she told Pete and Clark. "We're going into Metropolis."  
  
"What are you doing there?" Pete asked, curious.   
  
"We're going to stay in a big hotel downtown, go shopping, maybe see a show, something like that. My dad's really sweet sometimes, even if he is...well..."  
  
"A dad?" Clark supplied helpfully. Chloe laughed.  
  
"How'd you know?"  
  
Pete practically snorted. "He has one too, you know."  
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"Dad? What're you doing home so early?" Chloe asked, wandering into the kitchen. She had seen her dad's car out front and knew he shouldn't be getting off for at least another couple of hours; that's why they weren't leaving until 8 or 9 that night--that, and Chloe STILL hadn't packed for the trip.  
  
"Hey, Chloe--in here," her dad called from the next room, and she followed his voice to find her dad quickly looking through some papers on his desk.  
  
"Are you off already?" she asked, falling into a comfortable chair near him. "Because I'm exhausted--so tired I could cry, really, but I guess I can just sleep on the way there, which really ought to be enough. And I slept in 2nd block, but then almost everybody did. Now I'm just rambling, aren't I? You can tell I'm tired, can't you? I wanna hit something, but I can't because I'm really just too happy about going into the city tonight..." she said, her eyes drifting shut after a while.  
  
"Chloe...um..." One shut eye popped open.  
  
"What?" she asked carefully.  
  
"I...well, honey, I can't go this weekend. I'm sorry."   
  
Tears of frustration and exhaustion started to fill up Chloe's eyes before she held them back angrily. "Why? We've had this planned for forever."  
  
"I'm sorry, Chloe, but I have to stay at the plant. I just can't take my vacation right now. Something...came up and Mr. Luthor needs me there for the next couple of days." He turned back to Chloe, but no one was there. He heard the door slam and his car engine start up, but Gabe knew there was nothing he could do now. "Lord help whoever runs into her," Gabe said to nobody in particular. He knew his stubborn daughter could be overwhelming sometimes, but headstrong AND exhausted was practically a lethal cocktail--this Gabe knew all too well.  
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"I'm sorry, Ms. Sullivan, but Mr. Luthor is VERY busy right now--he absolutely can't be bothered," Lex Luthor's secretary told a frustrated Chloe Sullivan for the third time.  
  
"Is Mr. Luthor even in his office?" Chloe questioned. "I'd like to speak to him for just a moment if I could," getting more and more irritated by the second.  
  
"I'm sorry, miss, but Mr. Luthor isn't in. He must be in the plant somewhere. If you'd like to make an appointment, perhaps he could see you sometime later this week, or next," she told Chloe. Finally the teenager gave up--but only temporarily, as usual. She thanked the secretary as nicely as she could under the circumstances and stepped outside the office.  
  
"So he's somewhere in the plant? I think I could probably find my way around," Chloe mused out loud, her journalist's instincts kicking in even through the haze of her being so tired. But just then the secretary's voice drifted through the half closed door.  
  
"Mr. Luthor, are you okay? You have an appointment at six, but it was changed to next Tuesday. I'm about to go to dinner, so do you need anything before I leave?" she asked over the intercom. Chloe heard Lex Luthor's voice come through clearly on the speaker.  
  
"No, I'm fine. Be back as soon as you can. Mr. Sullivan has some files you'll need to be going over later the this evening, naturally--that's all."  
  
"OK, Mr. Luthor. Thank you," the secretary's disembodied voice said, and Chloe hurried to hide when she heard the woman gathering her things and heading toward the door. Moments later, from behind a half-closed storage room door, Chloe saw her pass by.  
  
She saw her opportunity and took it, walking quietly through the outer office, seeing red and becoming angrier at her father's boss by the second.  
  
Chloe was met by the sight of a bare-chested--or, rather, barebacked--Lex Luthor as she turned the corner. She stood at the far side of his suite style office, both arms braced on either side of the gleaming marble-set sink. Chloe silently gasped, her sharp intake of breath making no noise as she stood there for a minute, unconsciously admiring the strong muscles of his smooth back before she remembered why she was there. But before Chloe could say anything, something made Lex turn around, and she just gawked, mouth agape, as he raised his eyebrows mockingly.  
  
"Ms. Sullivan, I presume?"  
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Author's Ending thingie: OK, more soon, but I need to write a little more on the end. Only about half the story is finished, and I wanted to finish a little more before the next update. So, if you liked it, please review. Ciao!--Annest 


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